Episode 6
How Prioritizing Trust Completely Transforms Selling with Danielle Navas-Brandt
This week, we are talking with Danielle Navas-Brandt, the Netherlands' first certified They Ask You Answer coach and the author of the Dutch version of Marcus Sheridan's bestselling book, about assignment selling. Assignment selling refers to proactively using educational content to educate buyers during the sales process.
We will take a closer look at what this looks like in practice, what the most common mistakes are and how to fix them, and how to write highly effective assignment selling emails.
Key Takeaways:
- Assignment selling is incredibly effective in today's buyer-driven world. (Hint: It can significantly shorten the sales cycles and increase close rates.)
- A well-executed assignment selling strategy makes you an expert guide and trusted advisor your buyers want to engage with.
- Personalization and active listening are key (make your buyers feel special and heard).
Episode Overview:
[01:40] Diving Deep into Assignment Selling
[02:39] Practical Insights on Assignment Selling
[05:40] The Power of Assignment Selling in Practice
[16:50] Avoiding Common Mistakes in Assignment Selling
[29:55] Final Thoughts and Advice on Assignment Selling
[33:34] Random Rant
Sources / Links Mentioned:
• Preorder Scattered to Scaled on Kindle before October 13: https://www.trustleader.co/scattered-to-scaled-book
📖 Book of the Week:
"Demand Side Sales" by Bob Moesta - If sales makes your stomach feel tight with a feeling of "ick," this book is for you.
Transcript
Welcome to Trust Builders.
Speaker A:I have another exciting episode with the esteemed, awesome and absolutely amazing.
Speaker A:You can tell I'm excited.
Speaker A:Danielle Navasbrandt, you went to Florida University, and then you spent some time in Boston working for large brand and marketing companies.
Speaker A:You got your MBA in Boston, and then you went to New York.
Speaker A:Then you went to the Netherlands, and you were at Capgemini for seven years.
Speaker A:And then you started your own firm called Brand Fabric.
Speaker A:You worked with major brands like Deloitte and Open Circle Software.
Speaker A: But then: Speaker A:And you read the book.
Speaker A:You actually became the first they Ask youk Answer coach certified in the Netherlands.
Speaker A:And then, which is so astounding to me, you translated the book into Dutch.
Speaker A:I am so thrilled to you on the show.
Speaker A:Welcome, Danielle.
Speaker B:Thank you, Hannah.
Speaker B:Thank you for having me.
Speaker B:Excited to be here.
Speaker A:You and I have talked in the past a lot, and you have some really amazing experience on assignment selling, and I would love to really focus on that in today's conversation.
Speaker B:I find that in they ask, you answer, there's so many different frameworks that you can talk about.
Speaker B:The big five, assignment selling, the selling seven.
Speaker B:And I really love to take the assignment selling part because it really combines both sales and marketing together, which I love.
Speaker A:So for someone who's never heard of assignment selling, can you explain to them what assignment selling is?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So assignment selling essentially is that you're providing your buyer with educational content before you have the first meeting or during while you're having your meetings in order to speed up the process and to help your buyer understand what they're buying, how they need to be buying it, and how to need to be thinking about it so that they can feel like they're making the best decision for them.
Speaker B:And sometimes it could mean that they're not choosing you and they're going with a competitor.
Speaker B:It could happen, but then you're helping them make the right choice.
Speaker B:That's the right choice for them and not the right choice for you, but you're educating them.
Speaker B:And assignment selling is, in essence, it's giving them assignments, giving them homework in order to make that right decision.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's really cool.
Speaker A:Let's talk about this more in a practical sense.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Because a lot of times it sounds cool in theory, but when I try to translate it, it's really hard to do right.
Speaker A:When I hear about this for the first time.
Speaker A:So let's say I'm a. I want to build A house and you are a salesperson for a prefab company.
Speaker A:Now what would my experience as a buyer right now without assignment selling be like when I focus on prefab?
Speaker A:So maybe I just picked that one because of that.
Speaker A:But right now I see that a lot of websites, they only talk about us.
Speaker A:Here are some projects.
Speaker A:If I'm lucky as a buyer, I might get some floor plan samples.
Speaker A:I might get a ballpark pricing.
Speaker A:But as a buyer without the assignment selling, what would be my experience that I have now?
Speaker B:Yeah, so if you're not doing assignment selling in the sense that we teach it at the ask, you answer is then your website would essentially be all yeah there for your buyers to get in contact with you.
Speaker B:So they have to pick up the phone because they don't, they're not informed, they don't know what they're doing, they don't know what they're getting and they're not sure.
Speaker B:So it's making them insecure.
Speaker B:And that insecurity is going to lead them a to Google further and find another company that does have the information that they're looking for.
Speaker B:And right now, in a lot of industries they won't find it anywhere because there's barely any companies that are really providing educational content.
Speaker B:But let's say if they do, then they'll probably end up going with your competitor.
Speaker B:And let's say if they don't, then they might, may, might just pick up the phone and get in contact with your salespeople and start asking them all of these questions that they keep getting and that they're going to have.
Speaker B:So, so you'll have to be ready and you'll have to spend time with that buyer to educate them on how to make the right decision.
Speaker A:So a lot of, as a salesperson, a lot of repetitive questions I have to answer and as a buyer, I come in, I'm maybe already a bit frustrated because I've probably read the website multiple times and then I still don't get what I need.
Speaker B:There's friction for the buyer because the buyer doesn't get the information that they want.
Speaker B:And there's also on the part of the salesperson, the seller, it's super annoying because you're talking to people and you're educating them and it could be that 80% of the time they're not going to close because once you've given them all of the information, they're like, oh wait, that's not exactly what I want.
Speaker B:You know what, thanks for the information.
Speaker B:I'll go to the next person.
Speaker B:So there's a lot of time also spent on educating them in person, but which is not scalable because your time is.
Speaker B:And you'd only have 24 hours in the day.
Speaker B:So all of that is.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's part of the frustration.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So let's say we are doing assignment selling.
Speaker A:How would that scenario play out if I come to you and you are a salesperson doing assignment selling?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So there's two things that are going to happen.
Speaker B:First of all, when the person is googling and they're looking on the website, they should be able to find most of the questions answered on the website.
Speaker B:People are people.
Speaker B:And they're not going to read everything and they're not going to go through everything.
Speaker B:Sometimes they're lazy and they're like, you know what?
Speaker B:I'll just pick up the phone or I'll send an email and I'll lean back and let them tell me everything.
Speaker B:And then I'll decide if I want to do business with them or not.
Speaker B:So if you're doing assignment selling, you will know that this can happen, that people will not be able to.
Speaker B:Will not be reading everything on your website, probably.
Speaker B:Or maybe they'll be missing some crucial information that they haven't read.
Speaker B:And if you have a good CRM system, you're tracking it, then you can probably see all of the things that they've seen and they've looked at.
Speaker B:And if you're doing assignment selling them, once the buyer gets in contact with you as a seller, you can say, hey, great, let's make an appointment next week and we'll discuss your project and what it is exactly that you want to.
Speaker B:And before our conversation next week, I'm gonna send you a buyer's guide and this video to inform you, to let.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To inform you of all of the questions that people like you.
Speaker B:Because I've dealt with people like you.
Speaker B:If I've spoken with people like you for the past, I don't know, 10 years, and I know that these are all of the questions that you have right now in your mind, and I want to help you get answers to those questions.
Speaker B:So it's good idea for you to read this first before our appointment.
Speaker B:That way you know exactly what to expect.
Speaker B:And we can zone in.
Speaker B:In.
Speaker B:In our conversation.
Speaker B:That's only about an hour, probably.
Speaker B:In our conversation, we can really zone into your specific needs and your specific wishes.
Speaker B:And that's like how you would apply assignment selling.
Speaker B:And of course, then you can decide, how strict are you going to Be in your buyer doing the homework, yes or no.
Speaker B:If you're still start starting up or have a lot of you still want to get to talking to a lot of buyers, you might want to say, you know what, if they don't do the homework, it's okay, I'll walk them through it in the conversation.
Speaker B:But on the other hand, when things are moving along and picking up and you're having more and more of these conversations, you can be a lot more nitpicky and say, you know what, the people that are not doing the homework, sorry, but we're going to have to reschedule until you do the homework because it's a waste of your time, but also a waste of my time.
Speaker B:And that's how assignment selling should work in practice.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That makes a very different buyer and seller experience.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:As a buyer, now all of a sudden I get that email, I'm expecting like a generic pitch or maybe, oh, you have to get on the phone with me to get a quote, the whole like pressure selling.
Speaker A:But now all of a sudden I have this attitude of I can trust that person to guide me through that process because that's all I want as a buyer.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I want to find someone who I can trust who will take my hand and walk me through all of these little steps that I, I've never done before, probably.
Speaker A:And then as a seller you have that experience of I am here to help, I'm here to guide, I'm here to teach.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:But I'm not wasting my time with dreamers who are just, they don't have the money or they don't have a piece of land yet or whatever it might be in whatever industry you're in.
Speaker A:So it's much more satisfying as a seller.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:It's, it goes both ways.
Speaker B:So it's, it saves a lot of time on the side of the seller and it saves time and it helps you pre qualify.
Speaker B:Also weeding out the prospects that are not going to be a right fit from the prospects that are going to be a good fit.
Speaker B:Who would you rather work with?
Speaker B:The people that are actually doing their homework and are interested in what in their project and what they're buying.
Speaker B:Or do you want to work with the people that are like, yeah, I don't, I'm not going to do the homework and I'm just going to wait for you to tell me what I need to do or what it is that, that you're selling.
Speaker B:You can tell right away which one you rather want.
Speaker B:And also from the side of the buyer.
Speaker B:It just builds trust.
Speaker B:Whenever they see all of this information, it's very professional.
Speaker B:If you've already thought about all of the questions that I have as a buyer, it's very professional and it comes across very trustworthy.
Speaker B:If you give me a whole document with all of the questions that I could have and I know that I should have right in front of me and I can dig into, I think it's.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's on all sides.
Speaker B:It's amazing that to see how the results are going to.
Speaker B:It's going to change the mindset of the.
Speaker B:Not only the seller, but also the buyer.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:When you send a guide like this, it's almost the buyer looks over their shoulder thinking, are they listening to my questions?
Speaker A:Because you're so on target.
Speaker A:Because you know your Persona so well.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that makes you feel heard as a buyer.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:You want to make sure that they feel like you understand their worlds, you understand their frustrations, you understand everything.
Speaker B:Their hopes and their dreams also, and their ambitions.
Speaker B:You want to talk about those as well and make sure you know all of that and then you can hone into that and really make them feel heard and.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Spoken to as a person and as a buyer.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Now, we mentioned a little bit here and there, but I still want to ask the question, why is assignment selling so effective with this new digital buyer?
Speaker A:We talked a lot about how buying behaviors have changed over the last few years, how we're really doing a lot more of our research, how our expectation has changed.
Speaker A:But why is it that of all the sales frameworks that are out there, that assignment selling is so effective in your experience?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think the reason is because great content and great educational content that shows your experience and your expertise is going to help you on so many different levels.
Speaker B:It's going to help you score in Google.
Speaker B:Of course, obviously now with all of the AI chatgpt kind of spaces, all of those AIs are getting their information from somewhere.
Speaker B:So wouldn't you rather they get it from your website so that they can inform people who are asking questions on ChatGPT properly?
Speaker B:And of course, you'd want them to.
Speaker B:To notice that it's you who's answering that question.
Speaker B:Obviously.
Speaker B:The other thing that I see is that once you've been answering your customers questions online, it helps you when you have new salespeople coming on.
Speaker B:So if you're onboarding new salespeople, they can read all of that content and get a really quick sense of what their buyer is thinking what their buyer wants, what their needs are, what their ambitions are, because you've written about it and you've talked about it.
Speaker B:So it's really great to help other salespeople on board.
Speaker B:And content, of course, when it's online, it's never going to sleep.
Speaker B:So it's the salesperson that never sleeps.
Speaker B:So whenever people are googling 24 7, whenever they have the time to do this, that could be at night, it could be early in the morning, it could be during the day, whenever, they can always find that content, and you can repurpose all of that as well.
Speaker B:So once you have the content there, you're going to use it to spread it throughout social media and you're going to show that you understand, again, your buyer and you know what they're thinking and you know what they want.
Speaker B:And by spreading that online, you're going to create demand for your product and your services.
Speaker A:I hear you.
Speaker A:That it's about SEO and it's about content, and it's about showing up where your audience is.
Speaker A:But there's also a very large effect on how we interact with our buyers, how we are now, all of a sudden, we move from salespeople to teachers, build relationships of trust.
Speaker A:What is the effect of assignment selling done right on my sales process?
Speaker A:Like, how does that change?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So if you're doing assignment selling, your.
Speaker B:The process of your buyer buying your products and services should go quicker, so your sales velocity should increase.
Speaker B:So you should be noticing that, let's say that your sales cycle usually would take 90 days.
Speaker B:Maybe it gets cut back to in the beginning to 30 days, and maybe at some point it might even be cut back to 10 days because your buyer is so much better informed when they're having conversations with you that it can.
Speaker B:You can speed everything along because you can really hone into their specific situation and that makes it a lot faster.
Speaker B:So all of the repetitive questions and the repetitive concerns that people have, their frustrations that people have, you've already addressed those with your content during the sales process.
Speaker B:Because assignment selling is not just at the beginning, not just before the first appointment, but let's say you've had the first appointment and there's other questions and concerns being raised.
Speaker B:You have content ready for that as well.
Speaker B:So when you're starting with assignment selling, the crucial thing is to always have your ears wide open to hear what are all of the questions and frustrations that people have and can I answer those on my website so that I can use that in the future?
Speaker B:And Then once you have that ball rolling, you're going to be continuing to be using that content throughout the entire sales process, speeding up everything because you're having.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're giving that buyer a really nice experience of self service and self selection, which is something that especially the buyer today wants.
Speaker B:They want to research on their own.
Speaker B:They don't want anybody looking over their shoulder, helping them, giving them all kinds of stuff.
Speaker B:No, they just want that.
Speaker B:They want to research that on their own.
Speaker B:And then once they've made themselves known to you, hey, I'm interested.
Speaker B:Then yes, you can give them information and help them move that along, of course, but also have that on your website.
Speaker B:So it's both ways.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's funny, I always describe assignment selling as a skill you learn, but there's also a piece of artistry to it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You have to, as you said, you have to have your ears out.
Speaker A:There is a very big active listening component.
Speaker A:There is some genuine curiosity about the person.
Speaker A:There has to be intuition.
Speaker A:So you really have to like listen and anticipate also some problems.
Speaker A:So let's flip that a bit and talk about the things that can go wrong.
Speaker A:You and I have seen assignment selling done in various ways and degrees and sometimes it went really well and sometimes it went really bad.
Speaker A:So what are some common mistakes that people are making and then how can you overcome that or how can you do that better?
Speaker B:Yeah, one of the mistakes that I've seen happen is that people just, they will send an email saying, this is blog article or this is a video that I think you should look at and that's it.
Speaker B:So of course what happens is there's no pressure, there's no need, there's no feeling of, oh my gosh, I need to be watching this or I need to be reading this from your buyer.
Speaker B:Because it's just, oh, it's just information.
Speaker B:I can do with it whatever I want.
Speaker B:And the way you want to do it, of course, is send an email message informing them why it's good for them to read the content and to watch the video and even, preferably if you can and if you're, if you dare put a highly personalized video with it.
Speaker B:So explaining to them, hey, I'm going to be sending you in a video, personalized video that's made specifically only for them in this email.
Speaker B:I'm sending you this article and I'm sending you this video and I expect you to.
Speaker B:And you don't really have to use those words, but it would be amazing or it's because you want to make a well informed decision because it's a huge investment that you're going to be making, let's say in the house.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Prefab house we were talking about.
Speaker B:It's a huge investment.
Speaker B:Nobody's just gonna go to the store and just buy a prefab house and, and take it with them.
Speaker B:It doesn't work that way.
Speaker B:There's a lot of thought process, there's a lot of fears, there's a lot of questions.
Speaker B:And I know that because I've been through this a lot of times and people always have these questions.
Speaker B:So I want to make sure that you make the best informed decision that you can that's right for you and that's why I'm sending you this content.
Speaker B:So you're raising the stakes on why it's important for them to do the homework.
Speaker B:So you're not telling them to do the homework, you're explaining to them why they should do the homework and why it's good for them to do the homework and why it's going to help them to do the homework.
Speaker B:Because that way in our appointments, when we have one hour to talk, we can really zone into your specific needs and wants.
Speaker B:So it's from their perspective, it shows them, wow, I really should be doing this because it's going to help me make the best possible decision for me.
Speaker B:Because the buyer is only interested in what effect is it going to have on me and how is this going to help me make a better decision.
Speaker B:And that's what you want to talk about instead of saying, I expect you to do this homework or I expect you to read this and watch this, or you can read it if you want to and you can read it if you don't want to.
Speaker B:You need to raise that.
Speaker B:The stakes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So mistake number one, being vague about why you're sending it, not giving a value proposition and explaining why is it important that they read the article or watch the video.
Speaker A:What's the second mistake that you see?
Speaker B:Yeah, one, I see a lot.
Speaker B:And that's something that, yeah, marketing marketeers have always been used to, like writing content that's promotional.
Speaker B:So that's really talking about why you should pick us, why we're the best, why our products are the ones that you need, etc.
Speaker B:Whereas if you're talking from the perspective of educating the buyer, then you're going to be very open, honest and transparent about everything.
Speaker B:And you're also not going to be talking only about yourself and why they should pick you.
Speaker B:No you're going to talk about what options are there for me.
Speaker B:What do those options look like?
Speaker B:When is this option better for me and when is option B better for me?
Speaker B:What is right for me?
Speaker B:So it's a very different mindset in writing that content.
Speaker B:And so what needs to happen is we need to really let go of that whole, we're here to promote our products and services and really think more like an educator.
Speaker B:Think more.
Speaker B:And I like to talk about being the Yoda in your industry.
Speaker B:So the Yoda Yoda in the people.
Speaker B:For the people who know Star wars know that Yoda is the one teaching to.
Speaker B:Luke Skywalker is the hero of the story and he's always fighting the dark side.
Speaker B:And you need to position yourself as being that Yoda for your customers.
Speaker B:So really, whenever they have a problem or a need or they're frustrated or they don't know who to turn to, they come to you as the Yoda because you're going to show them the way and you're unbiased.
Speaker A:Okay, what's the third mistake?
Speaker A:You see, a lot of times people make?
Speaker B:Let me think.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, the third one is sales and marketing not working together on these content pieces.
Speaker B:They might ask sales, oh yeah, what kinds of questions do you get?
Speaker B:And they might get some questions there, but usually they'll start answering the questions from their perspective.
Speaker B:So from the marketing perspective.
Speaker B:And they'll not in.
Speaker B:They will not include sales in it.
Speaker B:And it goes both ways.
Speaker B:Sometimes sales don't.
Speaker B:Doesn't want to talk to marketing and vice versa.
Speaker B:So there's always this, like, little struggle happening, which I don't really understand because I think that when you're working on the same goal, which is helping your buyer choose what's right for them, then it shouldn't be an issue.
Speaker B:Doing assignment selling really needs to have marketing and sales working together because sales are the people that are on the front line.
Speaker B:Sales are the ones that are having conversations with buyers daily so they know what the frustrations and what the fears are there and what the friction is there.
Speaker B:Whereas marketing can use that information and make proper content that showcases their experience and expertise.
Speaker B:Of course, but it has to.
Speaker B:They have to work together.
Speaker A:What about the actual email you talked previously about?
Speaker A:We need to have a value proposition, but there's a lot of artistry that goes into the email itself.
Speaker A:Can you talk a little bit about just some practical tips on what the email header should include, like the subject line and sort of some tips of how to make this email as effective as possible?
Speaker B:Okay, yeah.
Speaker B:So getting really practical in the email, what we've seen is that if you put video in your subject matter, in, in your header, in your.
Speaker B:Yeah, what is it?
Speaker B:Subject line.
Speaker B:Yeah, subject line.
Speaker B:If you put video in the subject line, it increases opening rate by, I don't know, depends on the industry.
Speaker B:But it could increase it by 80%.
Speaker B:So people usually will be triggered by a video.
Speaker B:The other thing is personalizing it.
Speaker B:So personalizing can mean your name, first of all, having the name of the person in it.
Speaker B:Hannah, I made this video specifically for you, but it could also be personalized as far as a problem is concerned.
Speaker B:So let's say that it's the second time that we've talked and you've talked about a specific problem or frustration that you have.
Speaker B:Then I can say, hey, Hannah, here's a video about XYZ problem that you specifically that we talked about.
Speaker B:Because that way you recognize.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:Yeah, we did talk about this.
Speaker B:And I want to know what, what the answer is to, to that frustration or that problem.
Speaker B:And the other two are just.
Speaker B:Video is going to increase it.
Speaker B:And then personalizing it by name, of course it's going to increase it because you want to feel like you're being spoken to.
Speaker B:It's made just for you.
Speaker B:Then in the email itself, when you're making your video, make sure on the video you're showing something that makes it specific to that person, that it's very clear that this video is only for Hannah and for nobody else.
Speaker B:That way it makes it more clickable.
Speaker B:People will tend to click on it more because they'll see, hey, it's something specifically for me.
Speaker B:Somebody made the time and efforts to make a video only for me that has high attention value.
Speaker B:So that's huge.
Speaker B:So they're gonna click on it and, and watch the video.
Speaker B:And the other thing that you don't want to do, and I've seen a lot of people do this, is that the thing that they talk about in the video, they write it out in the email as well, and then it's pointless because then why would they click on the video if you already have the whole thing?
Speaker B:No, you want to say in the video, I explain what the next steps are, for example, and then you're not going to write out the next steps because it, it defeats the whole purpose of watching the video because you want there to be another moment of contact.
Speaker B:They want.
Speaker B:You want them to see you and to hear you speak and get a feel for your personality.
Speaker B:So don't do that.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:And then you can close off with the links to whatever blog article you talk about in your video or whatever other video you talk about or the buyer's guide that you have.
Speaker B:Whatever you've done, whatever you want them to do as far as homework is concerned, you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You end up with that.
Speaker B:And then you say, looking forward to discussing this further in our next meeting.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's amazing how many people get lost in ginormous texts and write long emails that are not formatted in any way.
Speaker A:They don't have bullet points.
Speaker A:And then they sometimes also put a link in.
Speaker A:So it's good to.
Speaker A:Really short.
Speaker A:Sweet.
Speaker A:Put the video maybe with a thumbnail that moves, that says hi, and then have underneath the actual name of the thing that you're sending them.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:With the text highlighted.
Speaker A:I actually had a conversation with Dave Owens in a previous episode.
Speaker A:He's from Roof Crafters.
Speaker A:And they have the rule, every single email that goes above three sentences becomes a video.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Super effective.
Speaker B:And that research has shown that when people read an email, they read it from a negative kind of point of view.
Speaker B:Like, they tend to read the tone as negative when it's Maybe not even meant that way.
Speaker B:Whereas in a video, you can show, hey, you're.
Speaker B:You have an intonation and you have a specific way of saying things, and you move with it.
Speaker B:So it gives it a totally different vibe.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:And the buyer has a.
Speaker A:If.
Speaker A:If that's the first time they see your face.
Speaker A:They've already seen your face.
Speaker A:They feel like they met you, and then they are much more likely to actually attend the call because they've met the person that they met.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:Definitely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It increases the.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:Again, it raises the stakes for the next meeting.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Now we've had our meeting.
Speaker A:Let's say you're still the salesperson.
Speaker A:We had our meeting.
Speaker A:And my biggest concern, because I live in an old Italian house and I want to replace it with an awesome prefab house, is mold.
Speaker A:Right now I have stone walls, and every winter it becomes moldy.
Speaker A:It's a problem here.
Speaker A:Let's say I keep on bringing this up.
Speaker A:Now, in a traditional conversation, what would usually happen is that the salesperson says, okay, so why don't you talk it over with your husband?
Speaker A:Or what?
Speaker A:And why don't you think about it and get back to me with the next steps?
Speaker A:Assignment selling completely changes how we follow up.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:How would that look like?
Speaker A:If you're the salesperson, how would you follow up with me now.
Speaker B:Yeah, so if we talked about mold and that's one of your main concerns, then of course my follow up would not be, hey, get back to me.
Speaker B:No, my follow up would be we've talked about mold and I know that this is a concern for you.
Speaker B:By the way, we've written these three articles about mold and what to do about them, what to do about it, and how to tackle this problem.
Speaker B:Because, yes, it is a problem.
Speaker B:Obviously you don't want to put it under the rug that it's not, because it is.
Speaker B:So you want to talk about that and then again, use that information to have another contact with them.
Speaker B:And don't sign off with, get back to me if you have questions, but sign off with, I will call you in three days to talk about what you've read in the articles and what your other concerns are or if you have any more.
Speaker B:More that you want to talk about the, the whole mold issue and if you have any other things.
Speaker B:So make sure that it's another way to.
Speaker B:For you to get in contact with them.
Speaker A:If we have a salesperson or a business owner listening to this episode or watching the video, what would your advice be on how to get started with assignment selling?
Speaker A:There was a lot of actionable advice in this episode already.
Speaker A:But if I now listen to all of this and I say that sounds really good, where do I start?
Speaker B:I think the first place to start is to gather all of the questions that you keep getting.
Speaker B:When you ask salespeople how many of the questions that you get from prospects are repetitive, are continuous, keep coming back to you.
Speaker B:Usually it's about 70 to 80% of the questions are always the same.
Speaker B:So make sure you take inventory of what those questions are.
Speaker B:So once you have those questions, put in a. Yeah, we call it the content sandbox when we talk about the Ask youk Answer.
Speaker B:But make sure you have that in one place and then prioritize what the most important question are and then start making content about that and use that content to make your buyer's guide.
Speaker B:So a buyer's guide is a guide in which you have all of the, like, the most frequently asked questions, let's say the 7 to 8 most frequently asked questions that you want to get out of the way before the first meeting.
Speaker B:Make a buyer's guide about that.
Speaker B:So the ultimate guide on buying a prefab home, let's say.
Speaker B:So that could be the first steps that you can take.
Speaker B:And then you have the content on your website that's doing the work and you have the content in the buyer's guide that's doing the work.
Speaker B:And then you have to teach your salespeople how to use the content in their sales process.
Speaker B:So first gather up all the questions, then start writing about them.
Speaker B:I see a thumb coming up.
Speaker B:Then start writing about them.
Speaker B:And then lastly, use it in the sales process.
Speaker B:But you need to teach them how to do that.
Speaker A:And when you're talking about create a piece of content you're not talking about, only write an article because we might have something that might be better suited as a video.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Usually it helps to write it out as a written content article because that would form the basis for your script for the video.
Speaker B:So once you have it written out, and it's also a check for everybody, so then you can check it with the sales, with whoever is involved, the subject matter expert, to make sure that it's correct, that it.
Speaker B:And everybody can read through it.
Speaker B:And then once you have it, because it's a lot easier to change written content than it is to change a video, once you've produced a video, it's a lot harder to go back in and change things.
Speaker B:So once you have the written content, and that's your single point of truth, that's the place where it's correct.
Speaker B:Once you verify that, then you can use that in video for LinkedIn post.
Speaker B:Put the video on YouTube, put the content on your website, put it in a buyer's guide, put it on social media.
Speaker B:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker B:Distribution of content is very important.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Fantastic.
Speaker A:I want to try out a new segment with you today, and we're going to call it the Random Rant.
Speaker B:Oh, gosh.
Speaker A:Is there something that is.
Speaker A:And it doesn't have to necessarily relate to assignment selling, but is there something in the industry that you think about and you're like, every single time it gets the hairs in the back of your neck up and you're just like, why are we not.
Speaker A:Why are we still doing this?
Speaker A: It's: Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you have two minutes.
Speaker B:Why on earth are B2B companies still talking about only their products and their functions and their features instead of their personality?
Speaker B:So personality over product.
Speaker B:And it's just amazing to me how all of these B2B companies are hiding behind these faceless products and these faceless services and these faceless features.
Speaker B:Say that 20 times fast.
Speaker B:And instead of that, showcase your personality.
Speaker B:Showcase yourself as a business.
Speaker B:Who is working there?
Speaker B:What are they like?
Speaker B:What do they move like, what do they talk like?
Speaker B:What makes you exciting and different?
Speaker B:Because the products are going to be like.
Speaker B:When people have those website tabs open with all of the different products, they're going to all look the same.
Speaker B:But the personality that you have and how you do the things that you do, that's the only differentiator that you have.
Speaker B:So make sure you showcase that.
Speaker B:That's my rant, is it?
Speaker B:Two minutes.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's one of my pet peeves as well.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because you have especially.
Speaker A:I've done a lot of.
Speaker A:I've done 12 years of software, B2B technology.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:Everyone just talks about either it's buzzwords.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Business process optimization.
Speaker A:That one has gone out of fashion a long time ago.
Speaker A:It's just so many buzzwords.
Speaker A:Or it's featureless that, oh, look the same.
Speaker A:If this one is green and this one is red and there's no, no difference.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And we can go faster and we can go.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:At the end when you read it, you still don't know what you're getting, though.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:So show me what it's like to work with you, what it would be like to have your software.
Speaker A:How is it going to change my day?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:What does it mean to me as a buyer?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:So other than obviously, your book in the Dutch version, if someone is listening who can speak Dutch, which I'm going to put in the show notes, what is a book that you would recommend someone reads?
Speaker A:What have you read that sort of changed your.
Speaker A:Your outlook on things?
Speaker B:Yeah, geez.
Speaker B:There's a bunch of books that have changed my outlook on things.
Speaker B:I think one of the ones that I've really liked recently that I read is demand side sales from Bob Musta, I believe.
Speaker B:Yeah, Bob Musta, it is.
Speaker B:And it really talks about, and it goes hand in hand with the ask you answer, which is lovely.
Speaker B:It really talks about getting into the head of your buyer and being able to create that demand when it comes to sales and really.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Understanding how to get into their heads and make sure that you're creating demand by showing them that you understand their world and you understand their frustrations and you understand what it is that they need and want.
Speaker B:And that way you again are being seen as the expert and the guide that can help them get there.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:I'll definitely check it out and put that in the show notes as well.
Speaker A:Danielle, it has been an absolute pleasure having you on the show.
Speaker A:I've certainly enjoyed our conversation and there are so many valuable and practical nuggets in there.
Speaker A:I really appreciate it.
Speaker B:Thank you so much, Hannah, for having me.
Speaker B:It was very nice.
